Five-vehicle wreck leaves one deadLITTLE ROCK — A five-vehicle accident resulted in the death of a Plainview man at approximately 6:25 a.m. on Monday near the intersection of State Highway 7 and State Highway 155 in Dardanelle. According to an Arkansas State Police report, a 2003 Ford Focus, a 2011 GMC pickup driven by Donald Trampp, 38, of Parks, a 2015 Ford F-250 driven by Larry Ellis, 53, of Plainview and a 2002 Dodge Ram driven by Travis Quinn, 45, of Pencil Bluff, were tr...

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Courier Staff ReportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Local man identified as boating victimDARDANELLE -- The Dardanelle Police Department said Tuesday the body found Thursday in the Arkansas River has been identified as John Hayes of Russellville. At approximately 4 p.m. on Thursday, the Yell County Mounted Patrol, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Yell County Search and Rescue Dive Team recovered a body from a search and rescue call that began on the Arkansas River in Dardanelle on Wednesday. The original call to 911 dispatch o...

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Courier Staff ReportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Fundraiser to benefit Russ Bus at Pediatrics PlusA fundraiser benefiting the Russ Bus will be from 1-2 p.m. today at Pediatrics Plus on North Sidney Avenue in Russellville. The fundraiser, called The Three C’s, will be conducted by brothers, Logan Drittler, 12, and Kasey Drittler, 9 and will have coffee, cocoa and chocolate bars for sale. The coffee and cocoa will be sold for $1 per large and $.50 per small and the chocolate bars will be $2 each. Kasey explained he heard about the Russ Bus w...

Wilderness photographer to visit ATUWilderness photographer Tim Ernst will present a program entitled "Arkansas In My Own Backyard" on Thursday, Dec. 8, at Arkansas Tech University. The program will begin at 7 p.m. at the Doc Bryan Student Services Center Lecture Hall, which is located at 1605 Coliseum Drive in Russellville. Admission will be free and open to the public. The Arkansas Tech Department of Parks, Recreation and Hospitality Administration, TAKAHIK River Valley Hikers...

Dover school green lights $600 bonusThe Dover School Board voted to approve a $600 bonus payment for all contracted employees at a special called meeting Nov. 30. Superintendent Jerry Owens said a closer examination of the school finances had led him to recommend the payment, which it said earlier might not be prudent in light of the school decreasing enrollment. He also said it was important that employees receiving the payment understand the regulations requiring deductions fr...

Health care tab hits $3TWASHINGTON -- The nation's health care tab grew at the fastest rate in eight years in 2015, driven by the coverage expansion in President Barack Obama's law and by costly prescription drugs, the government said Friday. The growth of 5.8 percent in 2015 boosted total health care spending to $3.2 trillion. That's an average of $9,990 per person, although the vast share of that money is spent caring for the sickest patients. Health spending grew ...

Art Walk carolersTHE COURIER / Emily Srader Singers from ACME (Arkansas Center for Music Education), under the direction of Brian and Shirley Faulkner, sang Christmas carols Friday evening during the quarterly Russellville Downtown Art Walk. The event exhibited the talent of local artists, craftsmen and musicians. The Art Walk also showcased local businesses as the venues.

O Street: 20 percent completeEven though rain has halted excavation and construction, the O Street project is forecasted to be finished ahead of schedule. Kurt Jones, Public Works director, said excavation, laying stone bed material and installing storm drains have pushed the project to just shy of 20 percent of being completed. That type of work, though, is weather dependent, thus creating delays. But that hasn't slowed production. "We anticipated some bad weather," Jone...

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BY SIERRA MURPHY
murphy@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Dardanelle Christmas paradeAs numerous spectators anxiously awaited the parade, Santa Claus, Darth Vadar, a living Nativity, elves, The Grinch and others made their way down Union and Front Street as part of Dardanelle’s annual Christmas parade on Friday night.

Stop yields $40,000 in marijuanaJose D. Rey, 33, and Edgar Lopez, 25, had their bond set at $25,000 each after Arkansas State Police allegedly discovered approximately $40,000 in marijuana in the vehicle they were driving eastbound on Interstate 40 near the 74 mile marker. The pair, who told District Judge Don Bourne they are from Los Angeles, were stopped on Friday around 2:50 p.m. in a white jeep sports utility vehicle for speeding and following too closely. When the offic...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

PC Farmer's Market year end nearsWith Dec. 24 as the Pope County Farmer’s Market (PCFM) official last day of the year, vendors reflect on the success 2016 brought to the market’s 44th season. Though Christmas Eve is the official last day, Dalinda LaRue, a farmers market board member, said as of right now only two vendors have confirmed they will be set up that day. One major accomplishment for the market this year was a matching grant for advertising they received from the Ar...

Clarksville school board approves new bonusesCLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville School Board met and approved bonuses for personnel and approved personnel recommendations. A bonus of $250 for licensed and classified personnel was approved by the board as recommended by the licensed and classified personnel policy committees. The bonus was proposed by administration and will be distributed prior to the end of the year. The board also approved the following temporary work agreements for before ...

'Femme Vital' project underwayAn Arkansas Tech University professor, Holly Gale, is working on a project called "Femme Vital." "Femme Vital" is a play that explores the feeling of being pigeoned holed in the acting world due to age. "Once I hit my 50's I realized that my theatre character options were becoming more narrow and I would have to be creative and make performing opportunities," Gale said. "My husband and I started thinking about ways this could be done. Meanwhil...

Quorum Court reviews 2017 budgetsOn Tuesday, the budget committee and Quorum Court met to discuss remaining budgets for 2017. After almost an hour of deliberation, emergency medical services (EMS) and the Pope County Library have finalized budgets, and the Pope County Detention Center's budget is in the final stages of review. Doug Duerr, Pope County EMS director, walked away with a finalized $2,493,528.09 budget. The Pope County Library, represented by system director Shawn ...

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BY SIERRA MURPHY
murphy@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Shinn Funeral Service a Golden Rule funeral homeShinn Funeral Service of Russellville is celebrating a landmark 50 years as a member of the International Order of the Golden Rule (OGR), a professional association of independently owned and operated funeral homes. Shinn Funeral Service was accepted into the prestigious funeral home organization in November 1966. As independently owned firms, Golden Rule funeral homes must meet and maintain a strict code of conduct and high ethical standards....

Animal Rescue in need of helpOLA — NovaStar Animal Rescue, a rescue primarily for pit bulls, in Ola has an abundance of dogs and is seeking help. Terre Joe Wood, founder of NovaStar, said she’s had NovaStar at her current location for the past three and a half years. Prior to that she was in Hot Springs Village but the rescue was no where on the scale that it is now. Wood explained she first got into rescuing dogs after an experience she had when her and her son tried bre...

Police: Chase hit speeds of 110 mphJeffrey L. Metcalf, 26, and Dustin S. Seiter, 24, were arrested on Nov. 30 after leading Russellville Police on a high speed chase, which ended when the vehicle Metcalf was driving crashed in Dardanelle. Russellville detective Steve Barker testified in felony bond hearings on Friday that the incident began after police responded to shots fired on South Knoxville Avenue. According to testimony, Metcalf offered to buy a vehicle from the victim b...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley